Southeastern Universities Research Association

Legal name: Southeastern Universities Research Association Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN: 541156453
IRS 990 coverage: 2009–2024
Official website data refreshed: Sep 2026
Forms available: Form 990 2024
Location: Washington, DC, USA
Phone: 202.408.7872
Rating: 78
Verdict: SUPPORTED
Rating confidence: Moderate
Sector: Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue: $251,855,977
Expenses: $252,569,094
Assets: $54,386,144
Liabilities: $39,536,098

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

SEAN HEARNE (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

STUART HENDERSON (FORMER LAB DIRECTOR (UNTIL 7/24)): $1,249,125 total reported compensation
SEAN HEARNE (PRESIDENT & CEO): $545,527 total reported compensation
DAVID DEAN (DEP. DIR. FOR SCIENCE & TECH.): $471,541 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

SURA’s mission is to advance collaborative research and education and to strengthen the scientific capabilities of its members and our nation. Southeastern Universities Research Association. SURA’s main purpose is to foster collaboration among member universities to enhance their capabilities of undertaking significant, transformative scientific research projects that no single institution or small consortium can handle independently. We are driven to promote and support scientific discovery that pushes the frontiers of knowledge and impacts lives and communities, while supporting a public service model that keeps our nation’s best interests in mind and contributes to the greater good. History The Southeastern Universities Research Association (SURA) was established in 1980 by a small group of research universities to bid on the construction and operation of a national Continuou.

What it reported doing in 2024

Sura has 55 member universities in the us and canada and is organized to promote collaborative research activities in science and engineering, to foster excellence in scientific research, to strengthen the scientific and technical capabilities of the nation, and to provide training opportunities for scientists and engineers.the thomas jefferson national accelerator facility, or jefferson lab, is one of the department of energy office of science's ten national laboratories. Sura has been responsible for the management and operations (m&o) contract for the jefferson lab since it was selected in 1983 in a national competition, through its wholly owned subsidiary, jefferson science associates (jsa) llc. As the m&o contractor, jsa has oversight responsibility for jefferson lab operations including over 800 employees and over $180 million in annual operating budget.jsa is organized as a limited liability company and is governed by an operating agreement that restricts activities exclusively to those having charitable, scientific, and educational purposes and a primary mission to perform the doe jefferson lab m&o contract. Sura provides oversight of the scientific mission of the jefferson lab with assistance from faculty experts from its member universities.sura, through its space science program, partners with other universities and organizations on grants and contracts to provide scientists and other subject matter experts to conduct astronomy, astrophysics, astrobiology, earth science, and engineering research to meet the mission objectives of several federal agencies.the center for nuclear femtography was established to bring together expertise in the nuclear physics research community. Sura provides research opportunities through grants to nuclear physics faculty within Virginia universities and postdoctoral fellowships to work directly with the center for nuclear femtography leadership.

Operating model

Revenue model: Earned-program. 96% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model: Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

Financial Efficiency: 63
Transparency & Controls: 91
Accountability: 100
Sustainability: 20
Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

Mission deployment rate: 71.4%; rating input score 71
Program expense ratio: 71.2%; rating input score 71
Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
Foreign activity oversight: Limited
Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

Operating margin: -0.3%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.22; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.73; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
Officer compensation ratio: 3%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

Program expense growth: 31.4% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
Revenue growth: 25.2% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
Asset growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Details

What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
Where the money goes: 71.4% of revenue deployed · 71.2% of spending went to programs
Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $179.8M in reported program spending
Leadership: top reported pay $1.2M · 32 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $13M reported
Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
Contacts: How to reach this organization
Money network: 20 filed money-flow records
Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.
Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.